Over the last year there’s been a great deal of change taking place at the Sustainability Research Institute (SRI), materially, spatially and academically. Whilst our home at the University of East London (UEL) has undergone major refurbishment, we’ve been fortunate to experience a major upswell in the Sustainable Materials research pathway. Several exciting developments have led to where we are now, and this blog is going to give an overview to those developments, and how they’ve created an exciting new phase for materials research at the SRI.
Since 2022, Senior Research Fellow Dr Bamdad Ayati has been leading the biomaterial research team at UEL exploring opportunities for long-term storage of biogenic carbon in natural building materials. With colleagues in the school of Architecture (ACE) he developed ‘Sugarcrete’ (link) in collaboration with Tate & Lyle Sugar. Sugarcrete is a bio-composite material which utilises sugarcane bagasse waste for various construction applications. The majority of the globe’s sugarcane agriculture occurs in the global south, and while the use of the bi-product of sugar production to be used as a construction material is not novel (see link), the advancement of a low-carbon binder and technology by UEL may facilitate its wider adoption as an efficient construction material globally. The construction of a powerful and effective brick has swiftly drawn the attention of critics across the media and museum exhibitions, gaining two Earthshot nominations, being semi-finalist for the Build-by-Nature award (£500k) and winning the Climate Positive Award. Meanwhile, building projects from across the globe have begun collaborations with UEL, such as a school building in India, sponsored by Chemical Systems Technologies.
Low-carbon materials are heavily dependent on our understanding of ecology and agricultural processes for cultivation. Research Fellow at the SRI, Jack Clough, last year completed his enormously impactful PhD investigating opportunities for Sphagnum farming in peatland landscapes as a productive crop that can rehabilitate peatland terrain and absorb carbon from the atmosphere. This method of wetland agriculture is referred to as ‘paludiculture’. Through collaboration and research partnerships with the IUCN UK Peatland Program, DEFRA, Micropropagations Services Ltd and the Wildlife Trust BCN, there is a growing body of research supporting paludiculture ideas. There are also policy moves to make paludiculture a widespread option on peat soils. During his PhD Jack sat on the Paludiculture sub-group within the Lowland Agricultural Peat Task Force. Collaboratively with colleagues (including the SRI’s Richard Lindsay), Jack’s input has helped to develop the 10-year policy roadmap for paludiculture. The Roadmap lays out the steps needed to achieve commercially viable paludiculture in England (link to roadmap).
A major development that has emerged in the roadmap is the possibility of exploring wetland crops as construction materials, and has led Jack’s ecology expertise towards an exciting collaboration with Bamdad Ayati.
As a result of a strengthened collaboration between the material research and ecology pathways at the SRI, the laboratory infrastructure has been enriched with state-of-the-art testing equipment. These cutting-edge additions not only signify a milestone in research capabilities but also underscore the commitment to providing valuable insights and solutions to partners in both environmental and construction fields.
To develop the evidence base and progress impact, the SRI has warmly welcomed three new PhD students which will be exploring the intersection of biomaterials’ applicability in construction and the societal acceptability of paludiculture processes.
Oluchukwu Okonkwo is a PhD student and researcher looking into Sugarcrete, an award-winning innovative material made from sugarcane waste for sustainable construction. Oluchukwu’s ojective is to test several Sugarcrete samples with different ratios, determine their properties, create a digital AI library that stores this data. This can then be used by the construction industry to get the right Sugarcrete approach for what they want to build.
Holding a master’s degree in Architecture from the University of East London, she was nominated for the prestigious RIBA Skin-Thinking award and the Architects’ Journal Sustainability award. Beyond academia and research, she is also involved in charities and organisations that focus on improving the health sector and empowering minority groups.
Joanna Bellet-Travers is a specialist in farming systems, diversification, paludiculture and agroforestry. Joanna holds a BSC (Hons) in plant nutrition, soil science and chemistry, an MSc (TAD) in agricultural economics from Reading University and over 20 years’ experience in senior management and Agri-Tech. She set up the Paludiculture Community for Natural England including the launch event in Jan 2023 in Cambridge and the Paludiculture Workshop in Manchester 2024, organising UK engagement events for the Community throughout 2023. Joanna is also an arable journalist, with engagement management expertise and has recently completed a field survey of peatland farmers in the Fens, working with the CLR at Cambridge University.
The PhD project is seeking to explore the potential for various forms of paludiculture to reduce carbon emissions from peat soils and enhance carbon capture, test the performance of potential new paludiculture crops, explore the barriers and opportunities associated with such crops, and look to develop product streams from these crops.
Georgemma Hunt is a hands-on researcher and designer with a background in architecture and art. She studied an undergraduate in Architecture at Cambridge University (2015-18) and a master’s in Sustainable Architecture at CAT (2021-23). She has previously worked as a freelance mural artist, an architectural assistant at Studio MUTT in Liverpool (2019-21) and a Material & Circular Economy Researcher at Local Works Studio in East Sussex (2023). She is a member of ReCollective – a material agency that diverts and converts waste from the film industry into community build projects.
Within her PhD, she is investigating the viability of making bio-based building materials with Typha (Common Bullrush) – a paludiculture crop that could be grown on productive, rewetted peatlands in the UK in line with climate change mitigation and building adaptation goals. The PhD is funded by The National Lottery Heritage Fund as part of the Peatland Progress Project at the Great Fen in Cambridgeshire.
Future of the lab
Through the exciting work of the new PhD students, and continued investigation of our Fellows and Research Assistants, the SRI lab is on course for a highly impactful and inspiring future. As it grows, there will be ever more capacity for international collaboration and consultation, to understand the important questions of our time at the intersection of ecology, sustainable materials and agriculture.
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